When it is more blessed to receive April 24, 2019 bizadmin …Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. Luke 10:42 WHEN IT IS MORE BLESSED TO RECEIVE If Jesus comes to your home, what would you do? Would you ask Him to sit down and then start serving Him? Or would you sit down and start drawing from Him? Would you let Him serve you and fill you up? Jesus walked into the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary (see Luke 10:38). Martha saw His weariness. She knew that Jesus had been walking for miles, going about doing good, healing the sick and meeting the people’s needs. Obviously, He must be tired, she thought, so she saw Him as someone she had to care for. Mary, however, saw beyond Jesus’ external weariness into His divinity. She saw that He was someone she needed to draw from. And by doing that, she made Him feel like God—the Savior who had come to serve her and not to be served by her (see Matthew 20:28). Jesus even commended her for choosing the better portion! Our human minds just find that hard to believe. Some people tell me, “But Pastor Prince, the Bible says that it is more blessed to give than to receive” (see Acts 20:35). When it comes to man, that is true. But when it comes to God, He wants to give. In fact, unless you learn how to receive from God, you will have nothing to give to man. Which sister gave Jesus the sweeter feast and filled Him up? Martha who was busy preparing food for Him? Or Mary who sat still and drew deeply from Him? It was Mary. She made Jesus feel a sense of His divine glory. She allowed Jesus to be the giver, to be God. Like Martha, we always reverse the roles. We somehow think that God needs our service, but He actually wants to fill us first. Mary’s ears and heart were more precious to Jesus than Martha’s hands and feet. We use our ears and hearts to draw from Jesus. We use our hands and feet to serve Him, and there is a place for that. But our sense and appreciation of God’s divine fullness is more precious to Him than all the service we can render Him. And when you draw from Him, you cannot help but become a great giver and server. -Joseph Prince
Blessed Easter and The Reason for the Resurrection April 21, 2019 bizadmin who [Jesus] was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4:25 THE REASON FOR THE RESURRECTION The Bible tells us that Christ was delivered up for our sins and raised from the dead for our justification. You may already know why Jesus died for our sins, but do you know the significance of God raising Him from the dead? Let me give you an illustration to help you understand the significance of Jesus’ resurrection. Let’s say that you are living in a foreign country. One day, you happen to break a major rule of the land. You appeal to the king for mercy. He says, “A rule is a rule. I cannot bend the rule for you. What will others say about my integrity? However, if you can find a substitute to take your punishment—three months in jail—I will allow it.” By God’s grace, you find a willing substitute. He goes to prison on your behalf and you don’t see him for some time. Days, weeks and months pass by. Now, how or when will you know that your crime has been fully paid for? When will you be able to rest easy regarding your crime? It is when you see your substitute walking free again! When you see him out of prison, you will know that the sentence has been fully served. You will know that you are now justified and no one can bring a charge against you for your old crime. No longer will you be afraid of the king or his guards coming after you because you know that the one who was punished in your place is now walking free. Beloved, Jesus, your substitute, paid the debt you could not pay. On the cross, He bore the sins of your entire life. God put it all on Jesus and then He punished Jesus for every single one of those sins until He was fully satisfied. And because He was so pleased with what Jesus had done, He raised Him from the dead. Today, Jesus’ tomb remains empty. He is not there for He has risen! His resurrection and empty tomb will forever be our assurance that we have been fully justified. You no longer have to be afraid of God judging you for your sins. His justice is on your side today! -Joseph Prince
Choose the Good Part and Be Blessed April 16, 2019 bizadmin …“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go. Isaiah 48:17 CHOOSE THE GOOD PART AND BE BLESSED God instructs us for our own benefit. He wants us to profit in every area of our lives—health, finances, career, marriage and family relationships. The Bible says that it is God who teaches us to profit. And it is He who leads us in the way that we should go. God always has our best interests at heart. We only have to sit at His feet, listen to His Word and just have fresh, daily communion with Him, and He will make our way fruitful (see Psalm 1:2–3). But we are constantly bombarded with things to do every day, like sending the kids to school, attending a business meeting or making a sales presentation. Likewise, in church, there are just as many important things to attend to—ministering to the needy, reaching out to the lost and healing the sick. But you know what? All these things will be taken care of when we sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His Word. What was the Lord’s response to Martha’s complaint that her sister was sitting at His feet and listening to Him, instead of helping her with the many tasks? “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42). Yet, many of us are like Martha. We worry about many things. And we are so busy that we have no time to sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to His Word and enjoy communion with Him. When we fail to draw from Him, we end up running on our own strength, and relying on our own flesh and wisdom to get things done. Listen, you can never have a plan that is better than God’s! My friend, do you want to be led by God’s wisdom and timing in your decision-making? Then, make it a point to choose the good part like Mary did. Spend time with Jesus, open your Bible and say, “Lord, speak to me.” You will find that your heavenly Father takes care of your troubles, and teaches and leads you to profit! -Joseph Prince
God Still Performs Miracles April 13, 2019 bizadmin Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40 GOD STILL PERFORMS MIRACLES God, who parted the Red Sea, rained manna from heaven, caused the walls of Jericho to fall, shut the lions’ mouths, healed the sick, raised the dead and calmed the sea, still performs miracles today. However, some Christians doubt that God wants to work a miracle for them today. They believe that there were miracles when Jesus walked the earth, but they think that the day of miracles is over. And they talk about how everything will be perfect one day in the sweet by and by. But God wants us to know that He is still the God of miracles today. Martha was like one of those Christians. She wondered if Jesus could perform a miracle when her brother Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. So she thought that Jesus was four days too late. That is why she said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). And even when Jesus said that Lazarus would rise again, she said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24). Martha believed that Jesus could perform miracles in the past and would do the same in the future, but she did not believe that He could give her a miracle when she needed it right then. You see, Martha was someone who lived wishing that the past could be changed and believing that the future would be better. But she did not believe that the “I Am” was there to meet her present need. Today, God stands at the point of your need. What miracle do you need from Him? Believe that He is still the same miracle-working God today. Believe that you will see the glory of God. Believe and you will see your miracle! -Joseph Prince
God is Your Strength April 11, 2019 bizadmin Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Ephesians 6:10 GOD IS YOUR STRENGTH When you say, “I can manage this problem by myself, Lord,” God says, “Okay, you do it then.” But when you say, “Help me, Lord! I need You. I cannot do this on my own,” God says, “Good, I have been waiting for you to say that. You cannot, but I can. Now, watch Me!” That is how God is—He loves it when you depend on Him. You see, when you think that you are strong and don’t need God, He cannot help you. But when you need Him and look to Him, He will not leave you weak and helpless. He comes and becomes the strength of your life. He becomes the breakthrough that you need. A church member with a smoking habit came to me one day and said, “Pastor Prince, please pray that God will help me. I want to stop my smoking habit.” I told him simply, “You cannot, but God can.” He replied, “Yes, I know that I can’t. But with God’s help, I will discipline myself and try my best to quit the habit.” I told him, “No, you cannot, but God can.” I repeated this to him a few times until he realized that it was not his self-discipline or willpower that would help him overcome his smoking habit, but the power of God. He finally understood that true deliverance from this destructive habit would not come by his own strength, but by “[being] strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” When I saw him again a few weeks later, he said, “Pastor Prince, since that day, I didn’t even try to stop myself from smoking. But each time I lit up, I told God, ‘I cannot, but You can.’ Then one day, the craving was gone! Jesus has completely delivered me from my bondage to nicotine!” This man experienced true deliverance, not just an outward form of discipline and willpower. So when you say, “I can do something about it,” you are still relying on your human strength. But when you say to God, “I cannot, but You can,” you have just tapped into the real source of your strength—Jesus. And as you rest in His strength, you will see His power manifesting in your life! -Joseph Prince
Jesus – King and Lord over the Storm April 7, 2019 bizadmin But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27 JESUS—KING AND LORD OVER THE STORM Are you going through a dark, difficult moment in your life? Perhaps the storm just rages on with no let-up and you are trembling in fear. You feel that any time now, you may just cave in and go under because you cannot beat this storm. Be comforted that Jesus sees what you are going through and He always comes to where you are in your darkest hour. He did that for His disciples one stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus came, walking on the stormy waters, walking on top of the problem that was threatening to overwhelm them. He is indeed the King and Lord over the storms! When your eyes are on Christ, even though the storms are raging and the winds are blowing, you will know that you are above your troubles and circumstances. When people ask you how you are doing under the circumstances, tell them, “I am not under the circumstances. I am on top of them because my God is above all!” Don’t be fearful. He will come to you walking on the stormy waters. Hear His comforting voice telling you, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And as you behold Jesus, you become like Him. You will find yourself doing things you did not know you could do. You will, like Peter, walk on water. This happens when you are occupied with the person of Jesus, with His resources, love, wisdom, ability, power and majesty. My friend, even during the times when you take your eyes off Jesus, He never takes His eyes off you. And when you cry out to Him, He will immediately stretch out His hand to catch hold of you. You will not go under. There may be times that you are not able to find your way back. Jesus will then hold your hand and walk you back to the boat. And like Peter, you will realize that with your hand in His, the storm will come to a standstill! -Joseph Prince
You Already Are You Already Have April 3, 2019 bizadmin Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:24 YOU ALREADY ARE, YOU ALREADY HAVE God’s Word tells us that we can have what we ask for in prayer—by simply believing that we already have it! As you are praying, know that you already have your answer or breakthrough—“believe that you receive them.” The Bible also tells us that we already have whatever we are praying for because we are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ (see Ephesians 1:3). And you are in Christ the moment you received Him as your Savior. So when you pray, you are actually releasing your faith to lay hold of what you already have in Christ. And as you keep saying that you already have it (see Mark 11:23), you will see the manifestation of it in the natural realm. In one of our church camps, a church member shared about the back problem she had had for 15 years as a result of a fall from her rooftop. She needed an operation to help stop the shooting pains in her spine. She had also been taking anti-stress pills for five years. After coming to church, she realized that she had already received her healing through the finished work of Christ. Refusing the operation and even the pills, she would rebuke the pain which kept coming back, saying, “In Jesus, I believe I am healed. I am not trying or going to be healed. I am already healed. I have a brand new backbone for I am in Christ. As Christ is, so am I in this world.” It was not very long before this sister saw the manifestation of her healing. Sometimes, the symptoms of sickness or lack may return and you think that you still have not received your blessing. That is the time to release your faith and declare that you already have it. You are not confessing to get it. You are confessing because you already have it in Christ! My friend, the Bible tells us that Christ is in us (see Colossians 1:27). This means that right now, your healing, wellness, family’s well-being and everything your heart desires are in you. So say, “I have everything I need in Christ right now!” -Joseph Prince
Time to Use Your Authority April 1, 2019 bizadmin And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it… Exodus 14:15–16 TIME TO USE YOUR AUTHORITY The problem with the body of Christ today is not that we are not praying. We are praying. But many of us are praying desperate prayers. We are praying, “God, help…God, please…God, do something about my problem!” If you are smiling a little by now, most likely, you know about such prayers and might have prayed a couple yourself. My friend, God does not want you to pray pleading prayers all the time. He wants you to use the authority He has given you to pray powerful prayers, to boldly command and to “stretch out your hand” and see miracles happen. When Moses stood before the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army in hot pursuit, the Bible tells us that he cried out to God. But God told him, “Why do you cry to Me?” There is a time for you to cry out to God and there is a time for you to use your authority. God told Moses, “Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.” The “rod” you have today is the name of Jesus. As you command in Jesus’ name, your “sea” will open and you will go on dry ground through the midst of your problem. Do you realize that Jesus did not say, “Go and pray for the sick”? He said, “Go and heal the sick” (Matthew 10:8). So stop pleading and asking all the time, and start using the authority you have in Christ. Jesus told the church, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore…” (Matthew 28:18–19). My friend, God wants you to go and use the authority that He has given you. And as you go, miracles will flow! -Joseph Prince